


Do I Know You?

by mmouse15



Category: Leverage, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 22:12:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13327425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmouse15/pseuds/mmouse15
Summary: While scouting a job, Eliot meets someone.





	Do I Know You?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Etnoe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Etnoe/gifts).



Eliot was scouting, along with Hardison and Parker, for the next job Nate had found for them. He noticed, as he often did, that the mark's apartment was wide open for an assassination attempt. Then he noticed that the shadows on the roof opposite the mark's windows was wrong. Pausing, he made the decision to check.

He ducked into the alley and looked at the fire escape. Old, metal, noisy. Not the best bet. He went back onto the sidewalk and walked into the shop that anchored the bottom floor.

"Bathroom?" he asked, and followed the clerk's finger to the hallway. There, he found the interior stairwell and began to climb. He softened his steps as he got near the top. He carefully pressed the bar on the door to the roof and eased the door open, peering out the crack as soon as he could.

A man was laying on the roof, a rifle with a professional scope attached. The rifle was braced by his left arm, which was metal? What was this, some kind of armor? Or a weird affectation. Eliot pulled back and blinked his eyes. He must be seeing things. He looked again, and the man was on his back, a pistol aimed right at Eliot. The metal seemed to go all the way past his shoulder.

He pushed the door open with his foot, his hands raised high.

"Easy. We're after the same guy," Eliot said.

"I got here first, back off," the guy growled, his voice rough and ragged, as if he didn't often speak.

"Yes, you did, and I have no problem letting you kill him. He's an asshole. But here's the deal. He stole a bunch of money from a children's charity, and me and my team are trying to get the money back for those kids. After we do that, you can kill him."

The guy frowned, "Orphans?"

Eliot shook his head, "Just underprivileged kids. Most of them have one parent, who works multiple jobs to make enough money, so the kids are unsupervised. This charity rents store fronts and makes it a place where kids can come in and get help with their homework, get snacks, take a nap in a safe place, find friends."

The guy listened, his gun never wavering. Eliot held himself still. Finally, the guy lowered his pistol.

"You'll the money back, then I can kill him?"

"Yeah, absolutely," Eliot said.

"How will I know?"

"I'll give you a sign. Look, what's your name? I can't keep calling you 'the guy' in my head," Eliot said.

The guy snorted, "You can call me Winter."

Eliot froze. The metal arm wasn't an affectation, it was his arm. He lowered his hands.

"I'm Spencer."

The guy nodded, "Figured. Heard about you and your team. Okay, I'll wait for a signal from you."

Eliot nodded, "Thanks. Should be within the next day. Almost everything we need is in place. But, uh, this is a bad perch."

Winter's lips twisted, then smoothed, "Not a problem."

"Figured as much. Good luck," Eliot backed into the stairwell, telegraphing his moves, and reached for the door, pulling it closed slowly. Once it was closed, he went down a story and breathed for a minute before continuing down.

When the Leverage team had their debrief, Nate mentioned that their mark had been killed a few hours after they'd hit him. One shot, clean as a whistle, right through his left eye. There were no signs on any of the closest buildings that there'd been someone.

Eliot said, "He was shot from the Executive Office Building."

Nate shook his head, "That's a mile away."

"Eight-tenths, actually, and not a problem for that assassin," Eliot corrected. The entire team stared at him.

"What?"

"How do you know that, Eliot?" Hardison asked.

"I met the guy while we were doing the setup. Trust me, it's not a problem for him. He stepped back to let us finish the job, and I let him know we were done. Mutual favors between like-minded people," Eliot said.

"Do I need to know anything more?" Nate asked.

"Yeah, don't ever cross this guy. Seriously, we'll never see him again," Eliot told them.

Nate looked at him for a long moment. Eliot held his gaze. Finally, Nate nodded.

"Okay, we're on a break until we find our next job. Take care, everyone," Nate said.

Eliot headed for the kitchen. He needed to cook.

In the kitchen, right where he'd see it, was a single cartridge for a long rifle. A red star was stamped on the casing. Eliot picked it up, examined it, and tucked it into his pocket. He needed to restate his case. _Nate_ would never see the Winter Soldier again. Eliot touched the cartridge. He might, though. He turned to his notebook. He really wanted to try this new recipe.

~fin


End file.
